When you bring that baby home from the hospital neither you or your husband will feel like cooking – I can almost guarantee it. We had several people from church and several family members that volunteered to bring meals over. My first reaction when they offered was a polite thank you and a smile. I thought it sounded very nice, but I could not understand why people felt the need to do this. It wasn’t a funeral where the church needed to prepare meals. Was it just an excuse to come see the new baby? I didn’t fully comprehend how tired and useless we would be the first few days. The days we did not have meals prepared for us, it was soooo easy just to run out and grab something and bring it back home. Well, if you do that too many times in a row not only is it unhealthy for your body, but your budget too.
One of the best baby bargains you can get is to prepare your own meals. With so many variables and interruptions with nursing, sleep, and dirty diapers, there is no telling when you might have time to sit down and eat. That is why crock-pot meals are so great. During a lull in the morning schedule you can throw a whole chicken or roast with some seasoning into a crock-pot and let it cook all day. When you are too tired later to cook you don’t have to run out for fast food. Or when you have a lull in the evening schedule instead of using that time to prepare a meal only to have to sit down and feed the baby about the time your meal is ready to eat – you can actually sit down and eat…and it will still be hot! No setting your plate on the table and letting it get cold after another session of some sort with your baby. Crock-pot meals should be used at least once a week, if not daily in the beginning. If you are thinking, how many chickens can you eat in a week…well, there is more to chicken and roast in the crockpot. Check out http://crockpot365.blogspot.com where Stephanie O’Dea made a New Year’s resolution to cook with her crock-pot every day for the entire year of 2008! She posts what she made every day so you have no excuses for not using this tool a time or two a week or even every day for a couple of weeks.
Oftentimes, we only think of crock-pot meals in the winter, but it doesn’t have to be winter for you to bring out the crock-pot. Utilize this marvelous kitchen tool when baby comes.
NOTE: Now that it is winter and you might be hosting visitors and family dropping by, staying late to finish up some last minute things at work in preparation for time off for the holidays, shopping excursions, Christmas parties – all of which can lead to the realization that you got caught up in everything, now it is time to eat and nothing is cooked so you need to go out to eat. If you know ahead of time this is a great chance to prepare a crock-pot meal.
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Tags: Baby Bargains, crockpot, Food, save money, save time
Posted in Bargain Strategies, Food | |
